Quarantine Quandary: The Ark At JFK Embroiled In Contract Disputes
The Ark at JFK, the equine import and export facility at the John F. Kennedy airport that opened in August of 2017, has filed a suit against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The contract suit alleges that The Ark has lost millions of dollars in expenses and lost revenue because of the Port Authority.
First reported in The New York Times, John Cuticelli Jr., said that he built he $65 million facility after signing a contract that stated that The Ark had “the exclusive right to provide specified animal handling services at JFK airport” with the Port Authority, says The Chronicle of the Horse. However, the numbers of horses utilizing the facility is minimal as many horses are still going through JFK Airport to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) quarantine facility in Newburgh, New York.
The USDA requires that horses flown into the United States must be quarantined for between three and seven days; stallions and mares may have to do additional testing at other quarantine locations. The horses stay in quarantine when they are tested for infectious diseases. Once it is determined that they horse does not have any of the diseases, it is released to the owners, who pay the bill for the quarantine to either the private company or the USDA.
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Cuticelli is CEO of Racebrook Capital, which built The Ark as a quarantine option closer to the airport as the USDA facility is 80 miles and a 2-hour trailer ride north of the airport. The Ark is physically on JFK Airport grounds and also services dogs, cats and birds in addition to horses. Cuticelli claims that his lease with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey stipulated that the Port Authority “must use reasonable efforts to cause other providers to cease their provision of the exclusive services.”
Cuticelli’s company was under the impression that the USDA facility would close once The Ark was functioning, but that has not happened. Cuticelli estimates that only 10 percent of horses that land in JFK go to The Ark. His claim is alleging $425 million dollars in damages from the breach of contract and lost revenue, reports The Chronicle of the Horse.
While the contract dispute will be dealt with in court, the question remains as to why the majority of equine shipping companies and owners prefer to send their horses to the USDA quarantine. Some shipping companies are very vocal about feeling that Cuticelli is a threat to their businesses, though Cuticelli denies he has any interest in expanding into the shipping industry. Others continue to use the Newburgh facility as they are comfortable with the staff and experiences the horse gets at the USDA facility. Cuticelli acknowledges that he is not a horse person, but the team he assembled to help him build the facility was extremely well-versed in equine operations.
Others note that the traffic near JFK can hinder the horses leaving the quarantine location and choose to ship to the USDA facility for the ease of getting the horses out when they are released. However, those who use The Ark are signing its praises and feel that the close proximity to the airport is a huge plus.
Read more about the lawsuit and opinions at The Chronicle of the Horse.
